This invention relates to a device for assisting in the opening and closing of pivotably mounted lids, coverplates and the like. It can serve, for example, in automobiles, as an actuating device for the lid of a ashtray when it is being swung out.
Devices of this type consist essentially of an elongated housing and a slide that is guided displaceably therein and is retained in its retracted position by a helical spring. A braking mechanism is provided that has to be overcome in the two directions of movement of the slide and the slide is fixed in the extended position by means of a locking mechanism, which is releaseable by again pulling the slide out a short way. For opening a lid, the device has the advantage that, after the lid edge has been pressed down briefly, the opening movement, which takes place by the slide moving from its extended position to its retracted position, occurs automatically by the helical spring. When the lid is closed, the helical spring is tensioned again and retained in the tensioned position by the locking mechanism.
In a known device of this type the slide is guided in a housing having a rectangular cross-section and has on its underside a braking mechanism comprising a rack that engages, via a pinion mounted in the housing and its shaft, a pot filled with a silicone mass, whereby the momentum of the shaft is partially expended. Because of the many individual parts, this device is very expensive to produce and its possibilities of use are therefore also restricted.
With a view to lowering production costs of the above-mentioned type of device, which is desirable for mass-produced articles, of the above-mentioned type of device, an object of the invention is to provide such a device with a reduced number of individual parts that can be more easily molded and readily assembled.